


Frozen Bird

by orphan_account



Series: Clint Barton’s Bad Days [1]
Category: Avengers, Marvel
Genre: Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Clint Barton Whump, Clint Barton-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Clint Barton, Hypothermia, Minor Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, POV Natasha Romanov, Protective Natasha Romanov, Snow, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, frozen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23387545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Relationships: Clint Barton & Avengers Team, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Series: Clint Barton’s Bad Days [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678423
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

Clint was never one for the cold, but he  
was never one to complain either. He hated fighting in these temperatures, it always made everything hurt. That's why, when Steve assigned him perimeter again, he didn’t complain.

He’d headed to the tallest mountain he  
could to perch, somewhere away from the action, but somewhere he could easily spot what was going on. 

He’d been shooting down as many strays  
as he could see when suddenly a new sound reached his ears. Steady and pounding footsteps; a march of some kind. 

Clint frowned and, when he turned around,  
his stomach dropped. At the approaching army, the archer stumbled over the edge in the opposite direction to avoid being seen. 

Shit! How was he going to handle this? 

They must’ve been reinforcements! God, there must’ve been at least a hundred out there! A hundred would mean a huge outnumberment for the team… what could he—? 

Clint’s train of thought was halted when he  
slipped untimely on the snow and landed on his butt. At first, he was ready to curse the wind, but then, an idea suddenly occurred to him. “Hey, I think I might need a lift here in a second— how far away is someone who can fly?” 

“Aww… wings no working? Don’t feel like walking?” Tony asked, the eye roll obvious in his tone. “Don’t worry, I’ll come and save you. Uh… where are you exactly?” 

“East. On a mountain. Tallest one you can  
see. Near a pass…” Clint grunted our in response and tried to ignore the comment. He began backing down the hill as he drew one of his strongest arrows. “And, I would walk, believe me. Just don’t feel like being crushed before I can make it to the bottom.” 

The speechlessness in the comm was  
unnerving. It was Natasha who broke the silence first, clearly unhappy. 

“What was that, Archer? Are you about to  
do something stupid? It sounds to me like you’re about to do something stupid.” 

Clint grunted in response. It’s the only  
choice I have, he old himself. This was the only way to take out this many people at once. It was either this, or run… and Clint never ran away from an honest challenge. “Stark, how far are you?” 

“A few minutes, maybe?” 

When the army began trudging over the  
hill, the archer was pushed further back. His time was running out, he was getting anxious. So much so, he couldn’t hide the panic in his voice. “Where are you?” 

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Tony snapped.  
“It’s not my fault you wanted perimeter!” 

“I never want perimeter, I just don’t throw a  
hissy fit—!“ Clint was suddenly cut off as a  
bullet sailed over his head. He’d been spotted! 

Hastily, he hopped behind the closest mound he could find as the firing began to pick up. 

“What was that?” 

“Now or never!” Clint barked. “Are you close?” 

“No, just hold on!” 

The fear that dropped into the pit of Clint’s  
stomach was like a heavy stone. He didn’t have a choice— he’d been spotted. If the soldiers reached the place he was, he was a dead man, and, if they reached his friends, they would be outnumbered! 

It’s for the greater good, Clint told himself,  
before he aimed his bow over the mound. He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and fired the arrow. The explosion was loud and jarring, but it accomplished exactly what the archer had planned. The ground shook under his feet as the snow was dislodged and, as it began to bury the enemies, he murmured one last word. “I’m sorry.” 

He was barely given a moment’s notice as  
the force hit him, and the next thing he was aware of was pain, then blissful peace.


	2. Chapter 2

The final words Clint uttered was followed  
by a loud noise, and then static. Not ten seconds had passed before the comms erupted in chaos. 

“Hawkeye?” Natasha was first to speak per usual. “Hawkeye, answer! Hawkeye! Clint!” 

“Friend Hawk?” 

“What happened?” Steve demanded. 

“The moron did something!” 

“What did he do?” 

“Something stupid!” 

Steve disregarded the comment. “Stark, did you see what happened?”

“Still too far out.” Tony pushed himself to go faster as the worry began to set in. Did something happen? What happened? Was he too late? 

“Do you know what happened?” 

“No, I don’t!” Tony was trying his best not to  
panic. Had something happened to the archer because he wasn’t fast enough to make it there? 

“How far are you?” Natasha barked. 

“Uh…” As soon as Tony arrived in the place  
the archer had claimed to be, the confusion and shock that came over him was odd. He hovered in the air, silent as he tried to figure out the answer to Natasha's question. 

“Stark!” 

“Shh! I-I’m trying to figure this out…” Tony shot  
back and looked back up at the mountain tops, hoping to spot something. Was this the right place? There was no sign of life anywhere, only a untouched snowy biome. “JARVIS, run a scan. Check for any human life as far as you can reach. Let’s see if we can figure out where the bird’s flown off to…” 

“On it.” 

As the machine processed the information, Tony cast a glance around the snowy biome around him. It was clean, unscathed. No footprints whatsoever. It had been here, hadn’t it? “He said Mountain Pass, didn’t he? Near a pass in the East?” 

“That’s what he said. Did you find him?” 

“Hm...” Tony frowned and slowly lowered himself to the ground. “JARVIS?” 

“I’ve detected 73 bodies under the snow,  
sir.” 

At that statement, Tony’s eyes widened in  
shock and he took a step back. “Oh, Shit….” He propelled himself into the air, suddenly afraid he was standing on top of someone. 

“What?” Natasha demanded. “What is it?” 

“God...Show me a visual, J.” Tony watched as the dots appeared across his vision. With each colored mark, he could feel himself growing more and more panicked. By the time it was done, he was heavily overwhelmed by the scattered colors, he was barely able to find his voice to speak. “Start a timer, JARVIS…. Guys…. How close are you to finishing?” 

“Only a few more trucks to take out,” Steve  
replied. “But, we can spare a few people. How soon do you need them?” 

“Right now. Don’t take your time! You need  
to get over here right now.” 

“I’m on my way,” Natasha’s slightly worried  
voice crackled through. 

“Yeah, you go. Stark, you need Hulk or  
Thor?” 

“I need Banner,” Tony breathed. “I need  
Banner because we’re going to have a field trip digging up frozen bird.” 

Steve’s voice was heavy and anxious when  
he spoke. “Hulk and Widow are on their way.” 

Natasha had never really enjoyed riding with the Hulk, it was always so nauseating, but she pushed through anyways. For Clint. 

When they landed, she went flying at the  
sudden change in speed and crashed into the mound. 

“Woah, you alright there, Frosty?” 

Natasha didn’t even need to look to see  
who it was. She grunted in response. “How can we help?” 

“I’ve marked every spot the system’s detected life. I suggest moving from the bottom up, just in case he was in front.” 

“I-In front?” Natasha stood up and glanced  
at the man in the suit. “What’s going on? Where is he?” 

Silently, Tony pointed the the hill directly in  
front of them. The X’s in the snow were barely visible. “He caused an avalanche.” 

“He what?” Natasha blinked and stared, suddenly frozen in place. ”A-An avalanche?” She asked in astonishment. “Why that little—!” 

“Work now, kill later,” Tony seemed just as  
frustrated. ”We’ve got work to do.” 

Natasha shook her head and forced herself  
to maintain a grip on her emotions. She took a deep breath and rushed over to the nearest spot, then she fell to her knees and got hastily to work.


	3. Chapter 3

The final words Clint uttered was followed  
by a loud noise, and then static. Not ten seconds had passed before the comms erupted in chaos. 

“Hawkeye?” Natasha was first to speak per usual. “Hawkeye, answer! Hawkeye! Clint!” 

“Friend Hawk?” 

“What happened?” Steve demanded. 

“The moron did something!” 

“What did he do?” 

“Something stupid!” 

Steve disregarded the comment. “Stark, did you see what happened?”

“Still too far out.” Tony pushed himself to go faster as the worry began to set in. Did something happen? What happened? Was he too late? 

“Do you know what happened?” 

“No, I don’t!” Tony was trying his best not to  
panic. Had something happened to the archer because he wasn’t fast enough to make it there? 

“How far are you?” Natasha barked. 

“Uh…” As soon as Tony arrived in the place  
the archer had claimed to be, the confusion and shock that came over him was odd. He hovered in the air, silent as he tried to figure out the answer to Natasha's question. 

“Stark!” 

“Shh! I-I’m trying to figure this out…” Tony shot  
back and looked back up at the mountain tops, hoping to spot something. Was this the right place? There was no sign of life anywhere, only a untouched snowy biome. “JARVIS, run a scan. Check for any human life as far as you can reach. Let’s see if we can figure out where the bird’s flown off to…” 

“On it.” 

As the machine processed the information, Tony cast a glance around the snowy biome around him. It was clean, unscathed. No footprints whatsoever. It had been here, hadn’t it? “He said Mountain Pass, didn’t he? Near a pass in the East?” 

“That’s what he said. Did you find him?” 

“Hm...” Tony frowned and slowly lowered himself to the ground. “JARVIS?” 

“I’ve detected 73 bodies under the snow,  
sir.” 

At that statement, Tony’s eyes widened in  
shock and he took a step back. “Oh, Shit….” He propelled himself into the air, suddenly afraid he was standing on top of someone. 

“What?” Natasha demanded. “What is it?” 

“God...Show me a visual, J.” Tony watched as the dots appeared across his vision. With each colored mark, he could feel himself growing more and more panicked. By the time it was done, he was heavily overwhelmed by the scattered colors, he was barely able to find his voice to speak. “Start a timer, JARVIS…. Guys…. How close are you to finishing?” 

“Only a few more trucks to take out,” Steve  
replied. “But, we can spare a few people. How soon do you need them?” 

“Right now. Don’t take your time! You need  
to get over here right now.” 

“I’m on my way,” Natasha’s slightly worried  
voice crackled through. 

“Yeah, you go. Stark, you need Hulk or  
Thor?” 

“I need Banner,” Tony breathed. “I need  
Banner because we’re going to have a field trip digging up frozen bird.” 

Steve’s voice was heavy and anxious when  
he spoke. “Hulk and Widow are on their way.” 

Natasha had never really enjoyed riding with the Hulk, it was always so nauseating, but she pushed through anyways. For Clint. 

When they landed, she went flying at the  
sudden change in speed and crashed into the mound. 

“Woah, you alright there, Frosty?”  
Natasha didn’t even need to look to see  
who it was. She grunted in response. “How can we help?” 

“I’ve marked every spot the system’s detected life. I suggest moving from the bottom up, just in case he was in front.” 

“I-In front?” Natasha stood up and glanced  
at the man in the suit. “What’s going on? Where is he?” 

Silently, Tony pointed the the hill directly in  
front of them. The X’s in the snow were barely visible. “He caused an avalanche.” 

“He what?” Natasha blinked and stared, suddenly frozen in place. ”A-An avalanche?” She asked in astonishment. “Why that little—!” 

“Work now, kill later,” Tony seemed just as  
frustrated. ”We’ve got work to do.” 

Natasha shook her head and forced herself  
to maintain a grip on her emotions. She took a deep breath and rushed over to the nearest spot, then she fell to her knees and got hastily to work.


	4. Chapter 4

The final words Clint uttered was followed  
by a loud noise, and then static. Not ten seconds had passed before the comms erupted in chaos. 

“Hawkeye?” Natasha was first to speak per usual. “Hawkeye, answer! Hawkeye! Clint!” 

“Friend Hawk?” 

“What happened?” Steve demanded. 

“The moron did something!” 

“What did he do?” 

“Something stupid!” 

Steve disregarded the comment. “Stark, did you see what happened?”

“Still too far out.” Tony pushed himself to go faster as the worry began to set in. Did something happen? What happened? Was he too late? 

“Do you know what happened?” 

“No, I don’t!” Tony was trying his best not to  
panic. Had something happened to the archer because he wasn’t fast enough to make it there? 

“How far are you?” Natasha barked. 

“Uh…” As soon as Tony arrived in the place  
the archer had claimed to be, the confusion and shock that came over him was odd. He hovered in the air, silent as he tried to figure out the answer to Natasha's question. 

“Stark!” 

“Shh! I-I’m trying to figure this out…” Tony shot  
back and looked back up at the mountain tops, hoping to spot something. Was this the right place? There was no sign of life anywhere, only a untouched snowy biome. “JARVIS, run a scan. Check for any human life as far as you can reach. Let’s see if we can figure out where the bird’s flown off to…” 

“On it.” 

As the machine processed the information, Tony cast a glance around the snowy biome around him. It was clean, unscathed. No footprints whatsoever. It had been here, hadn’t it? “He said Mountain Pass, didn’t he? Near a pass in the East?” 

“That’s what he said. Did you find him?” 

“Hm...” Tony frowned and slowly lowered himself to the ground. “JARVIS?” 

“I’ve detected 73 bodies under the snow,  
sir.” 

At that statement, Tony’s eyes widened in  
shock and he took a step back. “Oh, Shit….” He propelled himself into the air, suddenly afraid he was standing on top of someone. 

“What?” Natasha demanded. “What is it?” 

“God...Show me a visual, J.” Tony watched as the dots appeared across his vision. With each colored mark, he could feel himself growing more and more panicked. By the time it was done, he was heavily overwhelmed by the scattered colors, he was barely able to find his voice to speak. “Start a timer, JARVIS…. Guys…. How close are you to finishing?” 

“Only a few more trucks to take out,” Steve  
replied. “But, we can spare a few people. How soon do you need them?” 

“Right now. Don’t take your time! You need  
to get over here right now.” 

“I’m on my way,” Natasha’s slightly worried  
voice crackled through. 

“Yeah, you go. Stark, you need Hulk or  
Thor?” 

“I need Banner,” Tony breathed. “I need  
Banner because we’re going to have a field trip digging up frozen bird.” 

Steve’s voice was heavy and anxious when  
he spoke. “Hulk and Widow are on their way.”


	5. Chapter 5

Hulk had given up about 6 holes in and  
now occupied with seeing how far he could hurl snowballs. Tony worked effortlessly with heat and lasers and high tech gear. Not long ago, both Steve and Thor had come in, but they also seemed unbothered by the cold. Meanwhile, Natasha was stuck with her stupid, human, bare hands. And, it wasn’t fun. 

Only two holes in and she was starting to  
feel the burn. She pushed on no matter how much it hurt, because that’s how she was raised, but training didn’t make it any more bearable. Cold was still cold, no matter where they were, and cold was still numbing and hurt. And, she was definitely hurting. 

Still, she pushed on. For Clint. For that damn, tricky b—At the sight of boots, Natasha froze. She recognized those boots… those were the same boots she wore on her feet, the same custom made brand. 

The realization hit her like a nuke and, even if her hands screamed, she began furiously scooping the snow away from her partner's body. “Guys!” She yelled as loudly as she could without even glancing back. “Guys, I found something!” 

The sound of footsteps heading over was both comforting and unnerving at the same time. There was a certain urgency to it that made it almost frightening. 

Natasha’s hands were nearly frozen by this  
point, practically ready to fall off, but she pushed on. Only when everyone else arrived to help, did she stop. However, she did not leave her spot. 

“Uh… Uncover his face so he can breathe!”  
Steve barked. 

Thor got on it immediately. 

Natasha watched from where she sat on  
the snow as her best friend’s face was uncovered and cringed. 

His complexion was almost the same color  
of the snow. His eyes were peacefully closed, blue lips slightly parted, and it was nearly impossible to tell if he was even breathing. 

When Steve spotted the state of the archer,  
he took a deep breath. “Is… Is he alive? Someone please tell me he’s got a pulse!” 

“I’ve got it,” Natasha mumbled right away.  
“You keep digging.” 

Steve nodded his confirmation and Thor  
moved aside as the Russian took a spot near Clint’s head. 

Her hands trembled as she reached down  
and touched her fingertips to his throat. When she didn’t feel anything, she moved to a new spot. 

“Well?” 

Natasha pressed slightly harder against the  
frigid skin and focused all of her attention on feeling something—anything against her fingers. Come on, come on— there! It was stuttering, slow, and weak, but it was there: a pulse. “It’s there,” she announced. “It’s weak, but it’s there.” 

“Is he breathing?” 

Natasha pulled her hair back and bent down close to Clint’s mouth. At the feeling of air against her cheek, she pulled away. “Barely.” 

“It’s a start,” Steve sighed. “God… Stark, how long has it been?” 

“Going on 40 minutes,” Tony replied.

Steve hissed through his teeth, showing  
the emotions everyone was feeling. “We’ve gotta get him back to the jet as soon as we can.” 

Everyone was in agreement. 

“Widow,”

Natasha glanced up from where she was  
cradling her numb hands at the sound of her name. 

“Go get Banner.” Steve said urgently.  
Natasha pulled back, eyebrows furrowed in  
confusion. “What?” 

“Go get Banner!” Steve held her gaze.  
“Now! Hurry!” 

The Russian scrambled to an upright  
position, despite the fact that she still wasn’t sure she’d heard Steve correctly. Get Banner? She’d die before she could get to him! The Hulk would flatten her! 

Nonetheless, she turned in the direction  
where the beast was throwing snowballs, and raced over. She had to try. 

“Hey, Big Guy!” 

Hulk whipped around with a huffed grunt  
and, upon spotting her, stomped over.  
Natasha slid to a stop and took a breath.  
She ignored the shaking in her legs and stood her ground. “I-I need Bruce—!”

“Puny Ban—!” 

“Please!” Natasha cut in before he could  
finish. And, even though every instinct she had told her to run, she stepped forward. “No puny Banner! Helpful Banner! My best friend is dying, so unless you’ve suddenly gotten a PhD in order to help, I need Bruce!” 

Hulk stared at her, a mixture of emotions  
on his scrunched face. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“Please,” Natasha lowered her voice so no  
one else would hear the emotion. Shakily, she held out her hand to the beast. “Please… Hulk, Please…. Clint… he’s the only family I’ve got left… and if he dies…” she shook her head and turned it away when she couldn’t find the words to finish. “Please…” 

She squeezed her eyes shut and tensed,  
but didn’t lower her hand. She braced herself for the pummeling she was about to receive, but when something large and rough touched her palm, she froze. 

“Hulk understand.” The beast’s voice was  
softer than she could’ve ever imagined. Then, with a mighty roar and snort, the enormous hand left hers and the sound of pounding footsteps soon followed. Still quite shocked, Natasha counted to thirty silently, trying to calm herself before she turned. What she saw, however, only brought the shock racing back. “Bruce?” 

Bruce Banner stared back at her from  
where he sat in the snow, clearly confused and tired. He blinked a few times, frowning, before he spoke. “Widow… I-I’m back… how?” 

Natasha shakily pushed herself forward.  
She stopped a few feet away for privacy’s sake, then pointed a finger over her shoulder. “We need you, Bruce. Please. We need you.” 

“Me?” Bruce sputtered. “W-Why do you need me?” 

“Something’s happened with Clint,” she  
said and turned when Bruce stood. “Come on.” 

“What?” Bruce frowned as he stumbled to  
keep up in his exhaustion. “What do you mean?” 

“There was an accident,” Natasha explained as smoothly as she could. “We need a Doctor and… and you’re the only one who could possibly know about this kind of stuff.” 

“Widow, slow down— what? I-I’m not that  
kind of doctor! I don’t do healing, I do science!” 

Natasha didn’t slow a bit. “You can sure as  
hell try,” she snapped. “You know more than anyone and you’re our only option.” 

“Natasha, will you listen to me—!” 

When she’d finally had enough, Natasha  
stopped abruptly and whipped around. In front of her, Bruce stumbled to a halt. “Can you help or not?” She demanded.

“I-I don't… I just…” 

“You don’t even want to try? What were  
those years you spent in isolation for? What were you doing the whole time there, huh?” 

Bruce didn’t answer. 

“Come on, Banner,” Natasha pressed. “I know you can do it, but each second I stand here trying to convince you is a second of life Clint loses. I can’t… I can’t keep it up. Yes or no? Can you help him?” 

Bruce swallowed thickly and looked to the  
ground. “I’m just… I’m…” he shook his head. 

In response, Natasha whipped around,  
away from him, as to not show the emotions she was trying so desperately to hide. How do we help him? How? How—? 

“I’ll do it.” Bruce’s voice surprised her. “The  
least I can do is try.” 

Natasha tried to ignore the relief flooding  
through her. They weren’t out of the woods yet. “Come on, then,” she said and stayed turned away from him, just in case. “We don’t have much time.”


	6. Chapter 6

The last thing Clint remembered after  
shooting his arrow was a rush of freezing cold terror, before everything went dark. The freezing factor never left him. In his unconsciousness, things drifted to him. 

Pounding. Rustling. Shouts. Yells, noises,  
all succeeding in bringing a cacophony to his aching ears. 

“...Now…!”  
“...Alive?”  
“... Clint—!”  
“... hear…”  
“...please…!” 

Then, as quickly as they had bambared  
him, they left. The faint sound of humming began to flood his consciousness and, suddenly, everything came rushing back to him. 

Everything was sore and frozen. He was  
paralyzed and so cold. He tried to force his eyes open, but they seemed to be frozen over as well! 

“You’ll be alright…” 

The voice succeeded in grabbing Clint’s  
attention. There was a slight pressure against his frigid hand, it was warm, so warm…. 

“I-I’m not really sure what I’m doing… but,  
the least I can do is try…” 

Clint forced everything he had into moving  
his hand. A squeeze, Hell, even a twitch would work. ‘I’m here.’ 

He had no idea if it worked and he certainly  
wasn’t going to find out any time soon. The darkness was pulling him in again, the sounds were fading, along with the pain and soreness. Clint welcomed it. Anything to be rid of this agony.

Right as the switch to his consciousness  
was flicked, there was one final quiet word:  
“Fight.” 

He was surrounded by darkness again, before something jostled him. Pain. Bad enough to jolt him back to awareness. 

His lungs were on fire, his eyes refused to  
open— why was he burning? He was buried under snow, not fire. God— it hurts, it hurts… 

Something circular was pressed against  
Clint’s face and something warm was blown against his nose and mouth. 

“Deep breaths, Clint,” 

A hand was petting his head, but also firmly  
holding it when he tried to turn. 

“C’mon, breathe— this is going to help you…”

Clint forced a gasp, then winced and  
coughed softly at the pang it left in his chest. The next breath was still sharp, but was ultimately better. Every breath he took was a little better each time, hurt a little less. By the time he was breathing somewhat normally, it still hurt, but at least it wasn’t agony. 

“There you go— slow, deep breaths… good… good… nice and deep…” 

Clint drifted for a while after that, warm and  
safe and away from the bitter relentlessness of the snow. Here, away from the horrors of the world, he felt safe and protected, like someone had just wrapped him up in a blanket. 

His euphoria, however, didn’t last as long  
as he would’ve liked. Voices pulled him from sleep and, even though his eyes stayed closed, his ears stayed open. 

“Clint…” a sing-song-y annoying voice was  
the first thing he heard. 

Figures. Of all the things to hear first, it had to be annoying. What happened again? 

The memory came crashing back, almost  
as crushing and mind-numbing as the snow that’d piled on top of him. Oh yeah, he’d almost suffocated and been nearly crushed by an avalanche, that was right. 

“Earth to Katniss, you need to open your  
eyes.” 

Clint tried to ignore the annoying voice.  
Instead, he focused on his surroundings. First, the feeling of someone holding his left hand. Soft, slender hands? Long nails… Nat maybe? There was a beeping going in time with his heartbeat and the sharp scent of cleanliness and coffee tickled his nose when he inhaled. A hospital, then? And someone was drinking coffee? God, he’d kill for a cup...

“Come on, Frosty, I’m getting bored of only  
watching you breathe… Frosty the Snowman, was alive as he could be…” Tony’s voice was singing softly now, but it was still quite irritating. 

“Stark, you’re not going to wake him up by  
being annoying,” another voice sighed, Natasha, sounding pretty closed to annoyed herself. 

“She’s got a point,” Steve’s voice piped up.  
“He won’t wake up unless he’s ready,” 

“Yeah?” Tony challenged. “Watch me.” 

Much to Clint’s disappointment, Tony continued to sing softly, but way off key. It was then he decided to make himself known.

“‘Singin’ sucks…” He dragged open his  
bleary eyes a crack, then turned his head in Tony’s direction and tried his best to give an annoyed look. “So does your ‘pick-up-friends-when-‘hey-needa-lif’’ method…” 

“Hey…” Tony didn’t seem the least bit ashamed, but did seem pretty happy and relieved. “Look who’s awake! Ha! Told you it’d work!” 

Steve headed into Clint’s field of vision,  
closely followed by Bruce, then Thor, and finally Natasha after she let go of his hand. The whole team was here… 

“How are you feeling?” Bruce was next to  
ask. “Any pain or discomfort? Are you having trouble breathing?”

“Mmm…’m alright…” Clint mumbled. “Jus’ tired…” 

“Yeah, Sorry…” Bruce shot Tony a glare.  
“That tends to happen when woken before ready…” 

“I was bored!” Tony said defensively. “But,  
look, he’s awake now! He seems perfectly fine!”

“You’re lucky he didn’t sock you right in the  
nose,” Natasha replied. “Though, now I’m starting to think he should’ve…” 

Clint gave a half smile at the joke and  
forced his eyes back open again when they drooped. The fight against sleep was definitely becoming difficult, especially since he was most likely pumped full of drugs. 

“It’s alright, Clint,” Steve comforted softly.  
“You can sleep, now, we’re not going anywhere…” 

Clint swallowed quietly and cast a look around. Everyone was gathered around him, eyes and expressions all soft and comforting.  
He was tired... that was true. He could barely keep his eyes open, he was startling to nod off as they speaker. 

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was settling back into the sheets. Recovery had to start somewhere and, somehow, he didn’t have a single doubt that they would leave him. 

He drifted into sleep with that comforting fact at the very front of his mind.  
He was safe. He was warm. He was  
comfortable. He was home.


End file.
